Cornerstone Advisors LLC Sells 3,100 Shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB) by 13.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 19,700 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 3,100 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMB. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. SouthState Corp bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 86.44% of the company’s stock.

Williams Companies Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $45.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.45. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.49 and a 52-week high of $45.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.13. The stock has a market cap of $55.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 1.05.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. Williams Companies had a net margin of 27.11% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Williams Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WMB. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Williams Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Williams Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.83.

About Williams Companies

The Williams Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It operates through Transmission & Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, West, and Gas & NGL Marketing Services segments. The Transmission & Gulf of Mexico segment comprises natural gas pipelines; Transco, Northwest pipeline, MountainWest, and related natural gas storage facilities; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region.